The fabrication of parts using powder metallurgy offers advantages over traditional metallurgy. For example, parts made from powder metallurgy often are fabricated at lower costs, closer to net shape, and with improved metal alloys compared to traditional metallurgy.
Conventional powder metallurgy techniques include encapsulating and consolidating metal powders within an enclosure. The enclosure is formed by welding together two or more metal sheets. Conventional techniques for welding sheets together to form an enclosure include placing welds in the portion of the sheets defining the space used to shape the part. Such welds tend to impart residual stress on the sheets, which can cause the sheets to twist and deform during fabrication of the part.
Further, according to traditional techniques, the enclosures are limited to forming parts with only rudimentary or simple shapes. To fabricate parts into final shapes that are more complex, a significant amount of material must be machined away from the parts, which increases the time and complexity associated with fabrication of the parts. Traditionally, a ratio of a total volume of the rudimentary shape to a total volume of the final machined shape is at least between about 30 and about 60. Because metal powders are relatively expensive, the loss of material associated with machining parts with rudimentary shapes into more complex shapes results in added manufacturing costs.